March 14, 2011-Staying Funky in Sao Sebastiao

Sao Sebastiao

District Sao Sebastiao

Dead Hush Puppies

Brasilia

Dear Family and Friends,

I'm very glad that Carnaval passed. We lost a lot of time and now we are scrambling to get back into the rhythm. When I first got on the mission, I thought that sitting inside all day would be a great dream, but it left me so antsy. Luckily one of the days we had a mission conference. We had it in Ceilandia, in the same chapel where I began my mission, so it was very nice to return. Elder Weatherby gave his last testimony ( he is headed home today), so it was an interesting moment, and a chance to reflect on the past year. I can't believe he is going home, but he served an amazing mission and so it's something that I am also very excited for him. I hope he passes by to visit you guys if he goes to BYU.

Transfers came and went. Elder Funk and I will stay here in Sao Sebastiao and we'll have another dupla in our district. Very fun stuff. We are helping a family get married this week, so we're very excited for it. It's kind of a complicated situation, but more or less, we are helping a less-active member marry her husband so he can be baptized. We have been passing by to read the Book of Mormon with them as a family. They have 3 kids, ages 15, 12, and 7. The 7 year old doesn't read very well, so he repeats what his mom or one of us says (which brings back memories of Caleb, Jared and Timo doing this with our family). It is a really good feeling, because usually the house is a little stressful before we get there and then it feels more peaceful once we start reading. Want a happy house? Read the Book of Mormon as a family.

Answers to Jared's questions about Brasil: (Jared is doing a report for school on Brazil)

1. Top 5 places in Brasil-not in order:

-Rio de Janerio, Sao Paulo, Fortaleza, Salvador, Rio Grande do Sul

2. Real is the money, like how we say dollar

3. The Brasilian coins are just like in the U.S.-they are called centavos-5, 10, 25 centavos and 1 Real-they don't make 1 centavo coins, they round up or down and they don't make 1 Real bills anymore

4. Best time to visit Brasil-Brasil has 2 seasons, dry and wet

5. Be careful of: thieves-very common, and dengue fever. Also, during the rainy season the roads become so full, they are like rivers, so it's dangerous to drive cars and motorcycles during the wet season

Josh sent his brothers soccer jerseys and they asked him what some of the words meant on them: Answer to Caleb's question-Batavo is a dairy company. They make yogurt-their logo is the lady with the hat. Jared's says Bozzano-that is a company that makes shaving cream. All the jerseys have advertising, if you have any question about what it means, just ask.

Love,

Elder Barton